Five Kanas residents, Gregory Rapp, 30, Denise Hurla, 50, Christopher Anderson, 30, Kenneth Stewart, 33, and Jeffrey Selectman, 29, are being accusing of selling marijuana and laundering the profits through slot machines at a casino in Kansas City, Kansas. According to U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom, the group of five deposited more than $200,000 in cash into slot machines and then cashed out right away without playing.
The investigation began in 2013 after Kanas Racing and Gaming Commission contacted the Kansas Bureau of Investigation about suspicious activity at Hollywood Casino in Kansas City, Kansas. Prosecutors say that the defendants were seen depositing large amounts of money in small denominations into the slot machines, then cashed out without wagering any money. This is how they were caught according to justice.gov:
"In November 2013, investigators determined Rapp had not claimed any Kansas earnings or wages since the third quarter of 2011, when he said he was employed at a Jiffy Lube in Overland Park, Kan. Beginning in January 2014 investigators working undercover bought more than two pounds of marijuana from the traffickers. In February 2014 one of the traffickers showed an undercover officer how to launder drug proceeds though slot machines using $18,000 in KBI evidence buy funds.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. The Johnson County Sheriff's Officve, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Tomasic is prosecuting".
